In this review we intend to provide a relatively comprehensive summary of the work of supramolecular hydrogelators after 2004 and to put emphasis particularly on the applications of supramolecular hydrogels/hydrogelators as molecular biomaterials. After a brief introduction of methods for generating supramolecular hydrogels, we discuss supramolecular hydrogelators on the basis of their categories, such as small organic molecules, coordination complexes, peptides, nucleobases, and saccharides. Following molecular design, we focus on various potential applications of supramolecular hydrogels as molecular biomaterials, classified by their applications in cell cultures, tissue engineering, cell behavior, imaging, and unique applications of hydrogelators. Particularly, we discuss the applications of supramolecular hydrogelators after they form supramolecular assemblies but prior to reaching the critical gelation concentration because this subject is less explored but may hold equally great promise for helping ...

Supramolecular Hydrogelators and Hydrogels: From Soft Matter to Molecular Biomaterials

Recent developments in luminescent coordination polymers: Designing strategies, sensing application and theoretical evidences

Rare-earth-based metal–organic frameworks (ReMOFs) have emerged as an interesting family of compounds, for which new properties are increasingly being found. Based on the potential of ReMOFs, resulting from their optical properties, large numbers of investigations have been carried out during the last decade. Among these investigations, ReMOFs as optical sensors, using their luminescence properties, are increasingly becoming an attractive and useful topic of research. In this study, we have provided the basics of the luminescence behaviour of ReMOFs, various possible sensing mechanisms, and a summary of the uses of ReMOFs for the sensing of nitro explosives, cations, anions, small molecules, pH, and temperature.

Luminescent rare-earth-based MOFs as optical sensors

Transformer Hydrogels: A Review

Coordination polymer gels: soft metal–organic supramolecular materials and versatile applications

Thiourea (TU), a commercially available laboratory chemical, has been discovered to introduce metallogelation when reacted with copper(II) chloride in aqueous medium. The chemistry involves the reduction of Cu(II) to Cu(I) with concomitant oxidation of thiourea to dithiobisformamidinium dichloride. The gel formation is triggered through metal–ligand complexation, i.e., Cu(I)-TU coordination and extensive hydrogen bonding interactions involving thiourea, the disulfide product, water, and chloride ions. Entangled network morphology of the gel selectively develops in water, maybe for its superior hydrogen-bonding ability, as accounted from Kamlet–Taft solvent parameters. Complete and systematic chemical analyses demonstrate the importance of both Cu(I) and chloride ions as the key ingredients in the metal–organic coordination gel framework. The gel is highly fluorescent. Again, exclusive presence of Cu(I) metal centers in the gel structure makes the gel redox-responsive and therefore it shows reversible gel–...

Redox-Switchable Copper(I) Metallogel: A Metal–Organic Material for Selective and Naked-Eye Sensing of Picric Acid

Theoretical studies of the electronic spectrum of SiC

Electronic states and spectroscopic properties of GeSi

Ab initio based relativistic configuration interaction calculations have been performed to study the electronic structure and spectroscopic properties of InBr and InBr+. Potential energy curves of a large number of states of both the species are constructed. The influence of the spin–orbit coupling on their electronic spectra is studied in detail. The heavy atom effect on the nature of the C1Π state of the indium halide molecules is discussed. The radiative lifetimes of the spin-forbidden transitions, A 3 Π 0 + – X 1 Σ 0 + + and B 3 Π 1 – X 1 Σ 0 + + of InBr, and spin allowed transitions, B2Σ+–X2Σ+ and C2Π–X2Σ+ of InBr+ are calculated. Transition probabilities of the parallel and perpendicular components of B 2 Σ 1 / 2 + – X 2 Σ 1 / 2 + and B 2 Σ 1 / 2 + – A 2 2 Π 1 / 2 of the ion are computed. Ionization energies of InBr as well as electric dipole moments of both neutral and ionic species are reported.

MRDCI studies on the electronic states of InBr and InBr

Electronic structure and spectroscopic properties of the ground and low-lying excited states of SnSi within 4 eV have been investigated by using a multireference singles and doubles configuration interaction (MRDCI) method that includes relativistic effective core potentials. Potential energy curves of a number of Lambda-S states of singlet, triplet, and quintet spin multiplicities are constructed. Spectroscopic parameters (T(e), r(e), omega(e), D(e), and mu(e)) of 27 bound Lambda-S states are reported. The ground state of SnSi belongs to the X(3)Sigma(-) symmetry with an estimated dissociation energy (D(e)) of 2.49 eV. However, with the inclusion of the spin-orbit coupling, D(e) reduces to 2.11 eV. Spectroscopic properties of at least 36 Omega states are determined. Transition probabilities of several singlet-singlet and triplet-triplet transitions are calculated. Partial radiative lifetimes of some of these transitions are estimated. A number of weak Omega-Omega transitions with partial radiative lifetimes of the order of milliseconds or more is also predicted here.

Susmita Chakrabarti

Papers

Redox-Switchable Copper(I) Metallogel: A Metal–Organic Material for Selective and Naked-Eye Sensing of Picric Acid

Theoretical studies of the electronic spectrum of SiC

Electronic states and spectroscopic properties of GeSi

MRDCI studies on the electronic states of InBr and InBr

Excited States of SnSi: A Configuration Interaction Study